The New York City Benchmarking Help Center (BHC) is the free, one stop shop for information, assistance, and answers to your questions about the NYC Benchmarking Law.

If you have questions about deadlines, you are not sure if your building is covered, or if you need help navigating ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager®, we are here to help. Our trained staff will walk you through the steps, point you to training and informational resources, and help you resolve problems so that you can meet the May 1 deadline with time to spare.

One-on-one Guidance

BHC staff are available Monday through Friday, 9AM-5PM to answer calls and emails, and address case by case inquiries.

Presentations

Contact BHC staff today to schedule a free group presentation for a comprehensive overview of the NYC Benchmarking Law and how to comply.

The NYC Benchmarking Help Center, in conjunction with the Mayor's Office of Sustainability (MOS), periodically distributes the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan (GGBP) Digest. The GGBP Digest contains news related to the four local laws of GGBP (including the NYC Benchmarking Law), training opportunities for building owners and managers, upcoming events, and reminders and advisories.

To be added to the email list and start receiving the GGBP Digest in your inbox, please sign up here.

Updates

After you submit your data to the City, Portfolio Manager® sends you an email confirmation with a spreadsheet attachment that shows your inputted data under specific labels, or fields. Each submission then undergoes a thorough 9 point review process. If your submission is identified as having a deficiency in any of the 9 key data points, you will receive an email asking you to correct the error(s) and resubmit a revised report before the next deadline. Please be sure that your email address is entered correctly under "Account Settings" prior to submission to ensure that the City has the most up to date contact information. If you are submitting for someone else, please submit "on behalf of" the owner and provide contact details.

The following fields will be reviewed by the City for completeness and accuracy:

NYC Borough, Block, and Lot (BBL): Data is missing, incomplete, inaccurate BBLs, or BBLs not on the Covered Buildings List.

Property Floor Area: Data is missing, entered as zero, below 50,000 sq ft for one building, or below 100,000 sq ft for two or more buildings together.

Number of Buildings: Data is missing or entered as zero.

Site EUI (Site Energy Use Intensity in kBtu/sq ft): Data is missing, entered as zero, less than 5, or greater than 1000 kBtu/sq ft.

Source EUI (Source Energy Use Intensity in kBtu/sq ft): Data is missing, entered as zero, less than 5, or greater than 1000 kBtu/sq ft.

Metered Areas (Energy): Data is missing, or data does not account for the total energy consumption for the property.

Municipally Supplied Potable Water - Indoor Use (kgal): Data is missing or manually entered instead of automatically provided by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) when the property is labeled "Yes" in the "Is this required to report automated water data from DEP?" column in the Covered Buildings List.

If you are required to benchmark in 2018, you are encouraged to begin the process as early as possible, but we provide this timeline to identify activities and deadlines that should ensure compliance by December 31, 2018. Mid-size building owners may submit their benchmarking report up until February 1, 2019 without penalty.(see service update).

December 10, 2018 – Request energy use data from utilities and if eligible, share properties with DEP to collect water use data.

December 15, 2018 – Finish entering energy, water, and other building data in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® and check for errors prior to submitting data to the City:

Make sure you have entered or collected 2017 meter data for the full year (January 1 – December 31)

Make sure a realistic EUI is reported: it should be above 5 or below 1,000 kBtu/sf

Do not report a building with no energy usage

Floor space must be greater than zero and more accurate than the estimated square footage on the Covered Buildings List

Make sure BBL and BIN are entered, and that BBL is 12 characters long and in the correct format (X-BBBBB-LLLL)

December 31, 2018 – Last day to submit data without first penalty of $500

February 1, 2019 – Last day to submit data without additional penalty of $500

Please visit this section periodically to find more information about the NYC Benchmarking Law and how to get help.